Modal Verbs – Exercises

Ex. 5.4.1 Reading  Question Tags  Using Verbs ‘can’, ‘will’ and ‘must’. Add an appropriate question tag to the end of each question.

For example: She’ll be late, won’t she?

1.Gabriella won’t let me use her hairdryer, _________________________
2.He must send the application form to us by the fourth of June, _______________________
3.My phone can download any apps, _________________________
4.You can’t come to the press conference tomorrow, _________________________
5.We won’t be back in the office until about one o’clock, _________________________
6.Wendy mustn’t know about the new curtains yet, _________________________
7.John’s grandma can bring Janey and Ali, _________________________
8.The others will be here in a minute, _________________________
9.We’ll find out the results on Tuesday, _________________________
10.We mustn’t forget to get some petrol, _________________________
11.Lucy won’t mind if I borrow her dress, _________________________
12.We can’t go swimming if the pool’s shut, _________________________
13.I mustn’t disturb Luis because he’s working, _________________________
14.We can’t stay for long, _________________________
15.Marco can drive us to the beach later, _________________________
16.The course will be over in a week, _________________________
17.It must be two years since we last met up, _________________________
18.Those girls can sing really well, _________________________
19.You must ask the office staff if you want to use the phone, _________________________
20.If you don’t understand you can always ask the teacher, _________________________

Ex. 5.4.2 Reading  Question Tags  Using Verbs ‘could’, ‘would’ and ‘should’. Add an appropriate question tag to the end of each question.

For example: We could go to the bank later, couldn’t we?

1.You should get a refund if the gig is cancelled, _________________________
2.The learners who finish first could do some extra reading practice, ___________________
3.You should never switch off a computer without first closing it down, __________________
4.You’d be annoyed if I talked all the way through Coronation Street, ___________________
5.I couldn’t take you out for dinner tomorrow night, _________________________
6.Oliver should get to work on time every day, _________________________
7.The program couldn’t be installed on your PC, _________________________
8.Sorry I’m late. The car wouldn’t start, _________________________
9.We couldn’t book a room for two nights, _________________________
10.The bar staff should be allowed to keep their tips, _________________________
11.Sheila could relocate to our Munich office, _________________________
12.We’d have to inform the students if the course was cancelled, ______________________
13.Look in the oven. The lasagne should be about ready by now, ______________________
14.We couldn’t afford a new car last year, _________________________
15.The children shouldn’t use the internet without permission, ________________________
16.You couldn’t give me a hand with the gardening, _________________________
17.Mandy shouldn’t wear that much make-up, _________________________
18.The managers could afford to give us more money, _________________________
19.We should all meet up more often, _________________________
20.Christopher wouldn’t want you to be upset, _________________________

Ex. 5.4.3 Writing  Question Tags  Using Modal Verbs – Plans for the Weekend. What are your plans for the weekend? Make a note of all the things that you might do, could do, should do, must do, can do and will do:

I might…

I could…

I should…

I must…

I can…

I will…

Ex. 5.4.4 Writing  Question Tags  Using Modal Verbs – Planning a Surprise Party. Imagine you are planning a surprise party for your best friend’s birthday. Make a note of all the things that you might do, could do, should do, must do, can do and will do:

I might…

I could…

I should…

I must…

I can…

I will…

Ex. 5.4.5 Writing  Question Tags  Using Modal Verbs – A Trip to Barcelona. Imagine you are going on a trip to Barcelona in Spain for two weeks.. Make a note of all the things that you might do, could do, should do, must do, can do and will do:

I might…

I could…

I should…

I must…

I can…

I will…

Ex. 5.4.6 Grammar  CAN

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Ex. 5.4.7 Grammar  COULD

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Ex. 5.4.8 Grammar  USED TO

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Ex. 5.4.9 Grammar  WILL

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Ex. 5.4.10 Grammar  WOULD

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Ex. 5.4.11 Grammar  SHOULD

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Ex. 5.4.12 Grammar  MAY / MIGHT

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Ex. 5.4.13 Grammar  MUST / HAVE (GOT) TO / MUST NOT

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Further activities – worksheets (PDF) to download:

Modal Verbs – Revision Page – Complete Pack:

Free podcast: The Magic of Modal Verbs in English – Free Resource Pack (MP3, 44 MB)

Modal Verbs – Revision Page – Complete the Gaps 1:

Modal Verbs – Revision Page – Complete the Gaps 2:


Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve 1:

Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve 2:


26 Past, Present, and Future Uses of Would – Complete Pack:


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